EU Green energy drive may create new dependency, Hungarian energy czar warns at EGIC forum

 ROME – The Euro-Gulf Information Centre (EGIC) convened for its monthly panel at its Rome headquarters, bringing together policymakers and analysts to explore the evolving dynamics of Gulf energy co-operation with the west and Europe’s shifting energy strategies, or lack thereof. Csaba Gondola, State Secretary and Hungary’s Ministry of Energy, was the keynote speaker of the panel and offered his personal assessment of the European Union’s current trajectory, along with Gulf embassy representatives. 

 According to Gondola Europe, in particular the European Union, has for far too long relied on external partners for its energy need and this reality has been thrust into public consciousness following the rupture of ties with Russia. While seeking alternatives to Russian gas, oil and nuclear power technology, the question of whether regional solutions would even be sufficient to meet a small portion of the bloc’s ambitious climate goals and energy needs. 

 He also noted how sanctions and supply disruptions have led to complex and costly workaround schemes, with Russian oil often re-entering European markets indirectly via third countries such as India and Turkey. Such practices, he suggested, underline the difficulty of achieving true energy independence in an interconnected global system.

 While expressing broader personal alignment with the EU’s environmental ambitions, Gondola cautioned against replacing one dependency with another. He highlighted the paradox at the heart of Europe’s green transition noting that a significant proportion of solar panels are imported from China and Vietnam, leaving Europe vulnerable in new ways. “We must not change dependencies,” he said, suggesting that strategic autonomy should remain central to policymaking.

 The discussion then turned to the feasibility of the EU’s sometimes “aggressive” climate agenda. Gondola argued that the bloc’s current approach leans too heavily on punitive measures rather than incentives, warning that such policies risk alienating industry and slowing progress. A more balanced framework, he suggested, would better encourage innovation and investment.

Energy diversification emerged as another key theme, for instance there have been some solar projects in Spain, where concentrated solar power using mirrors has shown promise, as well as some geothermal developments in Hungary. However, he stressed that renewable energy sources alone may not provide the reliability required for a stable energy system, which is one of the main problems with current green energy targets. 

This led to one of the evening’s key and more controversial points: could looking towards nuclear energy be a potential solution? Gondola argued that phasing out nuclear power in Europe was all too hasty. This follows recent comments made by the German Chancellor himself, who stated that it was a “strategic mistake.”  While public perceptions of nuclear energy have been set for a long time and shaped by disasters such as Chernobyl disaster and Fukushima, opinions are beginning to shift and there has been a growing recognition of its potential as a stable, low-carbon energy source. Hungary too, along with other former soviet countries has already had with decades of experience successfully using nuclear energy and continues to invest in new capacity despite controversy surrounding its partnerships.

While Gondola reaffirmed Hungary’s commitment to European co-operation, he warned that the EU risks falling even further behind if it fails to keep pace with global manufacturing and innovation, particularly in Asia. Currently Europe’s third biggest solar panel manufacturers are Dutch, who produce merely 1% of solar panels used in the EU. The challenge, therefore, is not merely to transition to green energy, but to do so in a way that is economically viable, strategically sound, and genuinely sustainable. Thus, the path to energy security is neither simple nor linear, and cooperation, whether within Europe or with Gulf partners, ought to be rooted in realism as much as ambition.

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